The Nilgiri Archaeological Project is a 5-year research project (2021-2026) funded by the Odysseus Programme of the Research Foundation–Flanders (FWO) with a Type II grant (n. G0F0621N) that was awarded to Daniela De Simone at Ghent University. The project is hosted by SANGH (South Asia Network Ghent) in collaboration with the Central University of Karnataka (Kalaburagi), the Chennai Museum, the French Institute of Pondicherry, and the National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bengaluru).
The aim of the Nilgiri Archaeological Project is to move beyond the conventional view that sees South Indian upland forest-dwellers as secondary actors on the stage of global history, and change our understanding of the role they played in the making of world civilisation. To this end, a team of international researchers with expertise in Indian archaeology, palynology and palaeoecology, historical ethnobotany, ethnolinguistics, literature and epigraphy will focus on the Nilgiri Mountains in southern India, a region of montane subtropical forests and the homeland of several ethnic groups, from the start of the Common Era to the early 19th century.
